Beer Snobbery

Why It's Not Snobby To Be Into Craft Beer

The other fundamental difference between beer- and snob-worthy objects is simply cost. Compared to wine, fine watches and fast cars, beer simply isn't expensive. Being a snob is all about having something others don't have or can't get, and then lording it over them. The best way to do that is to have a $4,000 bottle of Château Pétrus or a $50,0000 Patek Philippe, and then showing it to everyone. Beer just isn't prohibitively expensive. I remember buying a bunch of Cantillon, a fairly rare and unusual Belgian beer, and the cashier ringing up the sale made a big point of commenting on the high $30-a-bottle price. Of course, they also sold wine that was 10 times as expensive, but the idea of a 750 milliliter bottle of beer being more than $15 was completely novel!

The one area in which I can see potential elitism occurring with beer is with the limited availability releases. To get access to these bottles, you need to either sign up in advance or line up at the brewery to purchase them. But even in the case of these rare bottles, price is simply not a factor. You can show up with your 10 or 15 bucks and, like anyone else, get that rare beer and drink it with the knowledge that it is not out of your reach. That's not the same case with a $1,000 dollar bottle of wine; you're not paying for rarity, as some $10 bottles of beer are just as rare.

So back to that Corona incident: Sure, my friend was giving me a hard time, but it was all in good fun. It was hot, I was thirsty, and a cold beer hit the spot. We'd spent the prior afternoon nerding-out and exploring the beer list at a craft beer bar, so I'm still in the fold with my credibility intact. In the end, we'll both continue our anti-snob crusade by trying to bring as many people into the craft beer fold as possible rather than pushing people away with elitism. Craft beer is for everyone. Join up and raise a glass.